Overview
- A federal grand jury charged Decarlos Brown Jr. with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital-eligible offense, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio prosecuting.
- Authorities say surveillance video shows no prior interaction before Brown allegedly stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska from behind; a pocketknife was recovered and police arrested him on the platform.
- Zarutska, a Ukrainian immigrant who came to the U.S. during the war, died on Aug. 22 aboard Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line, according to police and court filings.
- In the parallel state case, the Rule 24 hearing on whether to seek the death penalty has been moved to April 2026, with court records redacting the reason and legal experts pointing to competency as a likely factor.
- The killing prompted passage of “Iryna’s Law” in North Carolina, tightening pretrial-release rules for violent offenses and expanding mental-health evaluation requirements.